So Far Away
by Hyan Matsuya
Summary: GOA is entering a time period where things don't seem to be getting better anytime soon. Tensions are high, and candidates are dropping like flies. And Victim only seems to be growing stronger . . .
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Megami Kouhosei, it belongs respectfully to its creator, Yukiru Sugisaki. However, _Tai Kazuya_ and the version of _Carres Gouthena_ used in this fanfiction do belong to a friend and myself; Tai to the friend who created him. Please have respect for my work, and the work of Sugisaki.

* * *

"**So Far Away"**

By: Hyan Matsuya

- Prologue -

Another impact to GOA's side sent candidates scattering for their lives. Partners clung to each other to prevent separation in the masses that were flocking to their Pro-Ings. Victim's numbers were beyond the far stretch of anyone's imagination, and many were questioning if it was ever truly worth it to protect the last planet. It was unhabitable, from what was said. The people were still remaining in the scattered colonies. So where was the absolute need to protect it anymore?

Tai didn't question it, that wasn't his reason for coming to such a place. All he wanted was to pilot the White Ingrid, become the best of the best, and maybe even surpass his own expectations. The only thing was training had been taking forever, and they barely touched the training the Pro-Ings. And now, in the spur of the moment, he was clenching tightly onto his repairer's hand and directing her toward the hanger. One might think that if Tai had half the brain he claimed, he would stay away from the battlefield with the little live field training he had.

He just had to get to that Pro-Ing of his.

His grip was slipping on Yuna's hand, flashing a glance back at her before reaching toward her and taking a firm grasp on the collar of her jacket. A slight smile came to his face as he examined the slightly startled look on her face.

"I'm not going to lose you, _I promise_," he whispered next to her ear as he pulled her forward through the crowd.

She gave a nod of her head as he gently pushed her on forward through the crowd, hands and elbows nudging him in the face and sides. He was still pushing against her back when she halted herself behind dozens of stationary candidates. Stopping, he peered over his repairer's head to see what the commotion was about.

"Wait here."

Patting Yuna on the shoulder gently, he began to badger his way through the mass toward the hanger door. Squeeze back just before reaching the Instructors that were blocking the hanger, he planted his hands on the shoulders of two candidates and hoisted himself up to see. Groaning, he lifted himself up more to the point that he settled his feet on their shoulders and lunged forward, making contact with the wall and sliding down beside an Instructor.

"Just return to your rooms, you'll be safer there." Instructor Matsukati, the repairer candidate Instructor, waved off someone the complaining students.

"Go back to your damn rooms. The candidates needed have already been dispatched from the hanger. You'll only get in the way," Azuma hollered, finally gaining some silence among the restless candidates.

"You're not needed now, we'll call for you when we do." Another Instructor began to push the candidates back, who eventually all began to return to their rooms peacefully, yet with angered mumbled beneath their breath.

Tai, however, didn't shift from his spot against the wall, not until his partner placed a hand on his shoulder and motioned her head toward the hallway to the relaxation room. A sigh passed by his pursed lips as he started in that direction. If there was anything he hated more than not being a pilot, it was the waiting to be sent out. Though he knew his chances were slim, only having been on GOA for two and a half months. He would more than likely be last to call.

Yuna tried to smile for her partner's sake, but to her dismay he was hardly paying attention to anything other than the endless thoughts that ran through his mind. He tended to be open to her. Despite the little time that they were partners, they trusted each other more than most of the pairings that had already gone through a year or two of their training. For some reason, she didn't feel that she had anything to do with the quick growth of trust between them. She didn't feel much for that matter. No pain, no happiness, no sorrow.

Only unworthiness.

Unworthy of his trust and the opportunity to be his partner. All she did was support him in his training and live field training. Emotional support was something she was failing at, and how he was remaining as cheerful as the day he arrived was beyond her comprehension. He had been friendly, open and honest to an extreme fault. Why had she been the one paired with him? Was grading their only way of pairing people together?

"Number 57, where do you think you're going?"

Tai came to an abrupt halt in front of Yuna, causing her to collide with his backside. As she peeled herself away from him, he bolted around her and stood before Instructor Hijikata. Salute and all as he was taught, he stood bolt upright with his hands at his sides. For an awkward reason, a churning feeling stirred in his gut. One that usually meant something bad, but he pushed it to the depths of his mind.

"Sir, just heading to the relaxation room," he responded as Yuna came to stand beside him.

He was in trouble, he could tell. The only reason an Instructor ever called him over to the side outside of training was to punish him for something he evidently forgot about. Yet as Azuma's face lightened up from its stern expression, Tai began to relax a bit. But only a bit.

"Get into that hanger, 57."

"Sir?" Tai quirked an eyebrow, a little confused by the order he was just given.

"Don't question me, you wretch! Get going!" the Instructor yelled, stepping to the side and pointing toward the now open hanger.

A grin smeared itself across Tai's expression, and without another word of protest or question, he bolted for the hanger. Waving a hand toward Yuna, he gave her a thumbs up and disappeared behind the closing door. Sighing, Yuna couldn't help but smile at the excitement her partner was going through, following Instructor Matsukati into the area where the other repairers were.

* * *

"Just remain in your designated spot and you won't have to do much, Tai," Yuna spoke calmly through the communications link that was established between the two of them.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," he replied, half asleep from having sat out in space for the last thirty-seven minutes waiting for something to happen.

Thousands upon thousands of Victim, and not one had slipped through the shield that the Goddesses had created around them. Though his training was limited compared to the other candidates around him, especially the Senior Candidates, he had gone through quick recapping with Instructor Azuma over the communications link. He was certain that it still wasn't enough, so he was forced to remain in a stationary location and shoot from there.

Even the slightest bit of help was good, as he recalled overhearing the Goddess pilots months ago when they did their annual visit to GOA upon the arrival of the new recruits. Resting back as much as he could, his heavy eyelids slid down to cover his mocha stained hues, tresses of light brown floating loosely about his head. _Just how long are they going to keep us out here? _he questioned in his mind. It was beginning to seem like eternity.

Deep breaths in and out, and Tai was on the brink of falling asleep. He was needed out here, wasn't he? Why else would the instructor want him out on the field and not the others?

Then he sprang to full consciousness at the sound of the shrill shriek of a Victim. Several of the candidates were blanketing the rogue Victim with constant fire until its pathway was clear – a direct path to the left side of GOA. In his panic, Tai shifted his Pro-Ing wrong, frustrating himself even more before Yuna began to send redirecting directions his way.

Once redirected, the kamikaze Victim was out of his sight, but only for a mere moment until he saw the barricade line-up of Pro-Ings; one a Senior Candidate from what Tai could make out. Gaining full control of his Pro-Ing again, Tai made a hurried path toward the others. Only until his communications link picked up several others.

"Three others are coming!" one repairer spoke out to her partner.

"Redirect your fire three clicks east," another commanded.

"Link up other Pro-Ings," a pilot candidate shouted out to other Pro-Ings in the immediate area.

"Fire!"

"Not yet. They're not in good range."

"The Pilots better be grateful to us," another candidate snickered across the entire open communication link between the Pro-Ings.

"They will, and they won't forget us either" one snapped back with sarcasm.

Covering his ears with his hands, Tai removed his scanner, his Pro-Ing becoming immobile and dead in space. Sure, he was optimistic and open about the truth, but he just wasn't ready to die yet. He couldn't understand how these candidates were ready to give it all up, and their repairers standing strong behind their decision. In those moments, he was beginning to question his strength, his will, his right to even call himself a pilot candidate.

Tears began to streak their way down his pale cheeks as he collapsed to his knees, arms wrapped about himself as he rocked gently. He couldn't watch them die like that, they had chances, opportunities, and they were going to let them be washed away in one explosion. One line of multiple deaths to protect others. Was that the meaning of being a pilot? Giving your life so others could survive?

He missed that part in the welcoming speech.

"Tai?" Yuna's calm voice came to his ears. "Back away, Tai. You don't have to do it."

". . . They'll die, Yuna."

"It's their choice," she reassured him. "And you have your choice."

Placing the scanner back on his head where it belonged, the Pro-Ing became functional again. His hand came up to wipe his cheeks dry. She was right, it was their choice, and he would respect it. He, himself, was just not ready to die yet. He would hold up their memory to the best of his ability. He'd make everyone remember if it came down to that.

The long link of communication between all the candidates had ended, yet one remained open. It was a link between a Senior Candidate and his repairer. For some reason, it caught Tai's attention and he couldn't resist. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he listened in. If a Senior was willing to die, then that would surely inspire the others around him.

"The Goddesses wiped out two of the four, Force. You only need to wipe out the other two," his repairer conveyed to him the data she had just received.

"Good, these newbies shouldn't have such a hard time with one if I take out the other."

_He's cocky,_ Tai spoke to himself in his mind, giving a shake of his head as he listened just a little more.

"Just be careful, you have to come back."

"Hmph, why'd they send me out if they didn't want me dead?" he snapped back before shifting himself, leaving the link open.

Those brown eyes of Tai's singled out the Senior's Pro-Ing, watching it launch off forward toward one of the oncoming Victim, others preparing to shoot down the other. Everything happened quickly before his eyes. Too quick for him to grasp it all at the exact moment. The first Victim exploded, giving cover for the second Victim to get a good chance to pass the other Pro-Ings and make contact with GOA. Yet that wasn't the only thing that began to stir panic among the other candidates in the barricade.

The Senior was nowhere on their radars, or the repairers' screens.

A scream came across the communications link, and immediately Tai knew that was the Senior's repairer. It was at that moment he knew the Senior was gone for good, and started to panic himself. So now what where those candidates supposed to do without a leveled, yet cocky, head to keep them cool and on task? He couldn't take over, he could barely maneuver his own Pro-Ing. His jaw dropped as he watched the others start to scatter and blanket the now seen Victim with fire.

"It's too close to GOA, you fools!" Tai yelled as he watched some of the fire blanket the left side of GOA where the repairers were, and the Victim soon made impact with it.

The force of the explosion wiped out several of the nearby Pro-Ings, and sent Tai hurling back into space toward the last planet, Zion. The scene played through his mind with his eyelids tightly scrunched shut. His ears were ringing endlessly, his hands tightly clasped around them. The ringing was immense, and he was near ready to pass out from it. From the final scream he heard ring loud and clear across the communications link that only he had.

Yuna's.


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Megami Kouhosei, it belongs respectfully to its creator, Yukiru Sugisaki. However, _Tai Kazuya_ and the version of _Carres Gouthena_ used in this fanfiction do belong to a friend and myself; Tai to the friend who created him. Please have respect for my work, and the work of Sugisaki.

* * *

"**So Far Away"**

By: Hyan Matsuya

- Chapter One -

The artificial landscaping of the relaxation room was soothing to a wear soul. Even though the breeze was far from being natural, it was closer than anything in a colony. That was the thought trailing through Tai's mind. Maybe Zion was similar, or close to it. Even better perhaps. Yet he was sure that he would never make it there to find that out for himself. Reflecting on everything, he was certain he would perish before ever completing his three years of training. He began to believe he wouldn't be on GOA much longer at that.

His repairer was gone, and he would never be able to complete his training without one. Many of the singled out candidates had returned to their colonies. Pilot and repairer candidates alike were without their partners, so there was no reason for them to attempt to complete their training. Some were attempting new partners, knowing they would never be able to adjust. It would be impossible for Tai, he could never adjust himself as quickly as he did upon his arrival.

"How long as it been, Tai?" an obnoxious voice spoke out beside Tai.

His vision shifted to gaze upon the one who spoke to him. He took in the sights of a black haired candidate, a pair of cold blue eyes staring directly at him. A childish grin played on this pilot candidate's face as he sat himself beside Tai. He made the best effort to smile and welcome his fellow candidate, but Tai's face remained blank.

"Not long enough to forget Yuna, huh?" The question shook Tai into anger, but he held back. "So it's only been three months, and you're still like a damn lump on a fucking log, man."

"Fuck off," Tai spat, pushing against the ground to get up to his feet.

"Meow! Aren't we sensitive to the subject, lately." He leaned back, propper up on his elbows as he watched Tai carefully. "You need to forget and get a new repairer. It's easier than you think."

Tai grunted violently, crossing his arms over his chest as his friend went on. "There was no way that you two were close enough for you to have to mourn and be isolated this long . . ."

Silence lingered between the two for several minutes. If it were someone else questioning him this way, he wouldn't have been so hesitant to snap. The subject had already been discussed between the two of them. Each had decided that they were going to do the things they best way for themselves. So why the matter was being pushed on again was something Tai was not expecting. Yet it wasn't worth the argument, but he had to let his fellow candidate know his place and his decision.

"Shonen . . . Just shut up. You're not helping me with this all." He turned toward Shonen, his hands at his sides and his face stern, his mocha stained hues cold and full of sorrow. "Just because you can move on with your new repairer doesn't mean the same for me. Drop the subject. I'm not getting a new repairer. Not now, and not in the future. I'll become a pilot . . . Without a repairer. Just as the current pilot of Ernn Laties did . . . I'll show you, Shonen. You just watch."

A chuckle came from Shonen as he laid back on the ground, his hands clenching his stomach as he broke out into near tears from laughter. A confused and bewildered look twisted upon Tai's expression. It took Shonen several moments before his laughing mockery of Tai ended. A huff of disbelief was emitted from his throat as he got himself up to his feet and stood beside Tai, ready to place a hand on his shoulder until he saw the look on his friend's face. Expression blank, empty. Like his soul was no longer there. But his eyes told it all, just as they always did.

Channeling his emotions into words had never worked unless it was sheer rage and anger. But even if he could never speak out what he felt, he couldn't hide it either. His brown eyes were like the open pages of a book, the wording in the pages easy to understand even by someone without any common sense. They were so plain. Yet behind it all, they had become nothing more than something to project complicated emotions. Ones he would never speak of, even on his deathbed.

Whenever he was acting like that it pissed Shonen off to the point he wanted to knock some sense into the guy. It was almost on a daily basis, too. He was tired of being around a guy who had to complicate things by thinking into them too deeply. Getting himself into things that had nothing to do with the original subject at hand. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist tightly, he took a step forward, bringing his tighened hand up quickly to lay a hard punch to Tai's lower jaw. Huffing as he stood there, he stared down at his friend kneeling on the ground gripping his jaw in pain.

The blow had taken Tai by complete surprise. He shifted his jaw in pain, a crimson fluid running down his chin. How he was going to react was unseen until he swiped two fingers across his mouth and gazed at the blood on them. Releasing a yell of anger, he flung himself forward, wrapping around Shonen's legs and wrenching him to the ground. Another second, and he was sitting on the unsuspecting candidate's stomach, hammering his friend in the face with punch after brutal punch. There was no mercy in Tai's violent hits, each one fueled with rage from something Shonen said; now or at the beginning. It didn't seem to matter anymore.

Months of pain and anguish all being released within a few moments and dozens of rough punches. Tai wanted to keep going until his mind was blank, and with each hit, Shonen's face was showing more results. It was hard for him to move. Each blow stunned him and Tai's knees had his arms pinned. It was unusual, though Tai had beaten Shonen in training many times, and it hurt like hell, this was worse. It was on a personal level and had immense emotion put behind each punch that was thrown.

Then it stopped. Sudden and without a real sign why. The echo of a snapping tree branch faded, pieces of wood falling all over Tai and Shonen. The larger remain of a thick branch fell to their side. Letting out a moan of sheer pain, Tai's body became limp and fell over and down the incline of the small hill they were on. Tai's vision blurred, the vague semblance of two candidates walking his way. A foot made contact with his side, and then again and again. He flet himself being jerked up by the collar of his uniform, face-to-face with Shonen. He couldn't make out the other candidate behind Shonen's head, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"You'll regret this, Tai," Shonen spoke out clearly, but it was all hazed to the candidate before his eyes.

As he felt himself falling backwards, everything went black and Tai passed out.**

* * *

**

The bright light blinded Tai as he struggled to open his eyes, his whole body numb but still there. He forced his hand up into the air only to have it come crashing down against his forehead with a thud. A loud swear passed his lips. A rude awakening, as he thought to himself. His yell attracted the attention of several people outside the closed door to his room, whether he knew it or not. He struggled to get his hand in the air again, but it just remained embedded against his eye, the whole arm tingling as were the rest of his body. What a condition he was in, and he was certain he wasn't even conscious for more of what happened. Joy.

Letting out a sigh, he slowly began to regain thoughts of what went on. The fight and him blacking out. That was it. Nothing more. Yeah, knowing Shonen like he did, he was certain he got a good beating while he was out of it. Shonen would never pass up an opportunity like that one no matter what. His first real hand-to-hand brawl with anyone on GOA. What a mark that would make on his record. He had a right, he was pushed into it. That was how he saw it anyhow.

One click and then three seconds later another click.

The door had opened and closed, and someone had entered the room. Tai tilted his head in the door's direction, his right eye covered by his hand but his left fully capable of seeing clearly. Blonde hair seemed to reflect the lights of the infirmary room right back at Tai. He tightly scrunched his eyes almost shut to be able to see perfectly and without being blinded. The familiar coloring of the standardized GOA repairer candidate uniform caused him to widen his eyes. His jaw dropped, even if he couldn't feel it.

"Yuna!" he called out to the repairer, practically flinging his numb self out of the bed only to drop back into it like the dead weight that he apparently was.

"No." The voice was calm, not scolding or demanding. Gentle yet stern. The sound of a chair scratching the floor echoed in the small room and came to a stop as the repairer sat down silently within the chair beside Tai's bed.

A transparent green clipboard was held tightly within the repairer's pale hands, white papers clipped tightly onto the board with a pen hanging off the clip by a small metal chain. Like the majority of the repairer candidates, she had the yellow shirt and the blue jacket with the pink straps and GOA identification card clipped to the left strap. But unlike the other repairers, she didn't have the standard blue pants. Rather, she had a blue skirt that dropped to mid-thigh.

A senior repairer candidate.

Had to be, they were the ones given the choice between the skirt and the pants. This wasn't pleasing Tai one bit at the moment. Why in the world would a senior candidate want to come and see him? He hadn't done anything to catch the attention of one. But then he noticed the slight modification to her identification card. At the bottom of the white card with black writing, there was yellow highlighted black writing that noted she was now part of the medical staff. What was the reason for that?

Feeling started to return to his body as she looked over the papers she had in her possession. They had to be Tai's medical records, or the injury analysis from earlier. Earlier, or days before? Exactly how long had he been laying in that bed, his body numb and totally dead to the world around him? Tai wasn't sure that he wanted an answer to that.

"Three days."

"What?" Tai choked out, able to sit himself up with his back against the wall and the pillow behind him. It hurt, his back that was. What the hell had happened?

"You've been here three days," the repairer repeated as she let the papers trickle from her in between her fingers before resting the clipboard against her knees.

She went on to tell him the extent of his injuries, how the instructors had found him beaten to a bloody pulp in the relaxation room, and just how long he was expected to remain within the infirmary. That she was the one assigned to make sure that he healed properly and was returned to his training only when she was absolutely certain that he was ready to resume it. Which, in her mind, didn't appear to be any time soon.

"Did they get Shonen?" he asked her.

"Who?" She raised an eyebrow, setting the clipboard down on the floor by her feet and folding her hands neatly in her lap. Wow, they really went all out in training the staff to be polite. Or was it natural for her? Tai wasn't sure.

"Shonen . . . He's the one who beat me. Him and some other candidate . . . Who I couldn't make out."

The solemn shake of her head wasn't didn't at all console him. He gritted his teeth and balled his fist up tightly, bringing it down with a great force on the side of the bed. A sharp pain jolted through his arm and to his lower back. He let out a holler of pain and the repairer jerked from her seat and stretched her arm out for his back and her other one for his arm. Her own hand wrapped tightly around his, two fingers from her hand that went for his back pressed tightly on a point near his spine.

The pain stopped, and so did his hollering.

His mocha hues looked at her face right in front of his and she wasn't even looking at him for the moment. Kneeling on the bed beside him, she released his hand and sat back a bit from him; her fingers still firmly pressed against his backside. Tai didn't know what she had done, or what she was doing, but he was grateful that the pain was gone. He noted not to do that again. Especially if this repairer wasn't in the room.

A sigh passed her lips as she tipped her head down a bit. Five minutes of silence had passed and Tai just kept his eyes locked at the white bed sheet that covered his legs. His gaze jerked up to the door, as did the repairer's when it was open. One of the lower ranking nurses peered into the room once the door was fully open, standing in the doorway.

"We have a bloody candidate straight from the Pro-Ing field . . . Dr. Rill wants you right away," and with that said, the nurse left and the door remained open.

The repairer nodded her head after the nurse was gone and looked back at Tai before taking her hand away. Slipping back off the bed, she knelt down to pick the transparent clipboard. Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it as she stood upright, she took a glance at Tai over her shoulder.

"Don't cause yourself anymore pain." Giving a gentle smile toward Tai, she headed straight for the door and disappeared behind it as it closed and blocked Tai's view. 


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Megami Kouhosei, it belongs respectfully to its creator, Yukiru Sugisaki. However, _Tai Kazuya_ and the version of _Carres Gouthena_ used in this fanfiction do belong to a friend and myself; Tai to the friend who created him. Please have respect for my work, and the work of Sugisaki.

* * *

"**So Far Away"**

By: Hyan Matsuya

- Chapter Two -

Three weeks in that plain white walled infirmary room hadn't done much for his recovery. Since his first encounter with that mysterious repairer, he had only seen her possibly another four times throughout that entire three week span of time. Most of the time it was different nurses or Dr. Rill herself. Tai shivered. God, Dr. Rill scared the living hell out of him. She was one psychotic woman if Tai had ever met one before then. If he didn't, which he was absolutely certain of, this doctor racked in the top slot of the list. She was completely nuts.

At least four different times the white sheets and pillow cases for his bed at been changed, and so had his black pajamas with the GOA symbol marked on the left side of the chest. Almost like a statement saying that GOA patented those clothes and they were to go nowhere else. That was what he thought, anyhow. They marked everything. The clothing, the students, the instructors, the Pro-Ings. What was to come next? Zion itself? He smirked. There wasn't a way possible for them to make a mark big enough to brand the last planet.

He let out a small grunt of distaste.

It was only now he realized there wasn't a window in the room to gaze out into space from. What a rude awakening that was. And here he was thinking he was gazing at the endless sea of stars every night before drifting off to sleep. He was losing it.

His hands ran through the loose spiky locks of his brilliantly shaded brown hair, fingers twining together behind his head as he laid back on his pillow. The ceiling was just as plain and white as the four walls, and even the floor. No scuffs or anything on the floor. What was with this place and keeping it so . . . white? It was bothersome.

Physical therapy was a joke. He was perfectly fine through the entire thing. Walking, running. Jokes to him. They were easy to do. Even a minor portion of the intense physical training seemed easy. But the downside was he hurt badly afterward. So they kept him there longer than he wasn't supposed to be. He was supposed to get out of here when that repairer said it was time and she thought he could deal with it. Yet she wasn't around the examine his progress. Another disappearance from his life, people seemed to love doing that to him.

Now training didn't even appear to satisfy Tai anymore. Finishing it up wasn't even on his mind anymore, let alone staying on GOA anymore. There was apparently no reason for him to. No repairer and then getting the crap beaten out of him by someone he thought was his friend. All that seemed to make up his mind for him. As soon as he was out of this cursed infirmary, he was asking for permission to drop his training and head back to his colony. It'd be for the best.

The door zipped open and he made no acknowledgment that someone was in the room other than him. Another nurse, another needle without a doubt. If it was, he'd freak. He hated being here in the first place and then they started sticking him with needles. Damn it, he despised the things more than he despised the Victim the candidates were being trained to destroy. Maybe he'd swipe the needle when the nurse wasn't looking and stick in her, let her know what it felt like to be stuck with one of those things. He shivered at the thought of it backfiring on him.

Groaning, he hid himself beneath the whiteness of his sheet, pulling it up over his head and tucking it back behind the pillow to keep it from slipping. Laying there dead silent and still, his hearing locked on to the sound of footsteps heading in his direction. His hands tightened up into fists. A few more steps and the room went silent.

He heard the chair scratch across the floor, the second time he had even heard it and it bothered his ears this time around. It was harder, making a worse noise than it did when that repairer did it the first time weeks ago. The room was so silent after that, he could hear the person sit down with a case placed on their lap, the removal of a needle from its protective casing, and the drawing of a fluid from its leakproof container.

Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath and held it. In his mind, he counted to three just as he heard the person stand on their feet. There was a tug to pull the sheet back, and as it was, Tai lunged forward at the person without even taking in a glance of them or the needle. All he saw was a wisp of blonde hair and familiar clothing colors before he grabbed the person's wrist and twisted the needle from their hand.

The needle, filled with whatever the person had filled it with, was now in Tai's left hand. His right hand was still wrapped around the wrist of the person with their arm twisted behind their back. The tip of the needle brushed against the skin of the person's neck as Tai pulled their back to his chest and held them there. He blinked to clear his view as he looked at the female now in his grasp.

The repairer?

His eyes widened a little bit in surprise. The feeling of his throat gone dry hurt, but he still held her there with the needle beside her throat. What a turn of events, not favorable, but he'd make it that way. It was time to get out of this place once and for all. By any means necessary if it came right down to it.

Wow, what a total turn around for Tai. Aggression toward a female. He had the right, he repeated to himself in his head. She did come at him with a needle. He just knew how to take things the wrong way. No, that wasn't him at all. He knew right from wrong, he just despised those damned needles with a great passion. There wasn't a way anyone was going to get near him with one of those sharp things without him putting up a good fight.

Starting to move toward the door, he dropped the needle on the floor and kicked it across the room. Good, it was away from him for the time being. That was very good. But bad on his part as it seemed to be taking a turn now.

Hands wrapped around his neck. Before he realized what happened, he was hauled over the repairer's back and slammed on his back on the hard floor. He choked up blood which spilled and made a lovely stain on the white floor. Hey, the room had some sort of natural coloring now. He had to snicker at that thought.

That blonde repairer had the case she brought in the room with her in her hands, standing over Tai with a look that didn't seem very pleased. Tai gulped. It wasn't going to turn out very nice in the end. He could tell.

His hands went to push him up to his feet and scramble to stand, but a booted foot pressed sternly on his breast plate and pinned him in his place. Shonen had really done a number on him, he was being flipped by a woman and even pinned by one. Tai couldn't believe it, and wasn't about to be stuck in the arm with anything either. He persisted in his struggle to get up, but then the repairer just knelt on his stomach and he knew it was done and over with.

His mocha stained oculars watched her as she set the case on his chest and popped the latches open. Her fingers slipped another new needle out from a sterilized case and her other hand took a hold on the small container of liquid. Just what was that stuff? He wasn't asking questions, he didn't want to know about it. All he needed to know was that it went into needles, and he hated those. That was good enough for him.

Pressing with her thumb, she squirted a little of the fluid out of the needle to make sure that it worked properly. She took out a small wrapped packet and tore it open to remove a small sterilized cloth with rubbing alcohol on it and swiped clean a small area of Tai's left upper arm. Holding the small cloth there to clean up after she injected him, she lowered the needle toward his arm without looking at his face.

Tai scrunched his eyes shut to the point that they started to ache.

"There," she said calmly, wiping the spot again with the cloth and tucking the needle away within the small case she had.

He laid there dumbfounded as she got up off his stomach and set the case on the bed. His blank stare was on the ceiling above himself. That was it? No gushing blood? No stinging pain? No struck nerve or anything? Was she that good or was it all mind tricks that she played with him? He gasped.

She had EX didn't she!

He shook his head. No, that wasn't possible for a female. So the current top pilot was a female. That had to be a fluke or a once in a millennia occurrence. Or a longer duration period than that. He laughed silently to himself she went crossed to the other side of the pure white room to pick up the needle he kicked moments before. Good or not, that didn't end his fear of needles.

Dropping the needle in the case and locking the latches close, she grabbed it with both hands and held it against her stomach. Her head tipped to the right slightly was she stepped over by his head, gazing down on him. Her face was soothing, no emotion yet there was something in it that was familiar. She did look like Yuna, he had the right to mistaken her for his old repairer three weeks ago. Only difference was Yuna had light brown hair, not blonde. And that she hadn't been a senior repairer. He was sure he'd come up with more as time passed.

A gentle shake of her head was given as she proceeded for the door. "You're able to leave here now."

Tai rolled over on his stomach and propped himself up on his arms and watched after him. His lips were parted, ready to speak out something before she disappeared behind the door. But her final words lingered in the room's dead silence as he stared at the open door.


End file.
